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The Detroit Lions made some changes in their secondary this week, releasing cornerback Jarren Williams with an injury designation and replacing him with longtime veteran Tae Hayes.
As Jeff Risdon of USA Today’s Lions Wire reported on August 4, Williams was carted off the field during Thursday’s practice after suffering a leg injury. He spent most of last season on the practice squad but saw time in two games, playing strictly on special teams.
While Williams could return to be placed on IR, Hayes will now have the chance to compete for a place in the team’s new-look secondary.
Lions Making Changes
The Lions are bringing on a well-traveled cornerback in the 25-year-old Hayes. He played for the New England Patriots last season and has spent time with five other clubs during the course of his four-year NFL career — the Carolina Panthers, Arizona Cardinals, Minnesota Vikings, Miami Dolphins and Jacksonville Jaguars.
As Risdon noted, Hayes has the chance to contribute in both the secondary and on special teams.
“At 5-foot-9 and 182 pounds, Hayes is a bit of an odd size for an outside cornerback,” Risdon wrote. “He’s played outside almost exclusively, as well as working on punt and kick return units across his multiple NFL stops.”
The Lions have made a number of roster moves since opening training camp close to two weeks ago, including a pair of others on August 5 as they signed wide receiver Avery Davis and waived edge rusher Zach Morton.
Competition at Cornerback
Though undersized, Hayes could have the chance to compete for a role in a wide-open secondary with the Lions. The Lions made a number of sweeping changes to the unit, which finished as one of the worst in the league in 2022, and made a number of key signings including C.J. Gardner-Johnson.
They also brought on former Lions cornerback Dre Bly as cornerbacks coach. Bly told MLive.com that he is excited to see what the unit can do in the coming season.
“You have some talented guys; guys who have played a lot of football, guys with pretty good playmaking ability. And hopefully, it can lead to great things for this defense this fall,” Bly said. “We’re excited to see the finished product once everything gets completed.”
Cornerback Jerry Jacobs, one of the few returning players from last year’s team, is also high on the unit and praised the mix of veteran and young players in the mix.
“We got guys like Cam Sutton, C.J. (Gardner-Johnson). Them veteran guys, they’ve been in the room these OTAs and minicamp and they’re helping us out a lot with just learning the scheme and playing in the NFL and making the defense better,” Jacobs said in a June 27 appearance on Good Morning Football.
“Cam Sutton has been in the league for seven years, so getting every knowledge from him. Emmanuel Moseley, he’s coming back from an injury, but he’s still in there 24/7. … Chauncey, man. Chauncey, he’s gonna make the game more fun. I love his enthusiasm. I love the way he comes out there and talks trash. That just turns us up. Man, the guys that we added this offseason, I think that we’re going to be pretty dominant in the back end.”
